A new method for the construction of the hydroxylated tropane skeleton: enantioselective synthesis of (-)-Bao Gong Teng A.

An efficient and highly diastereoselective method for the construction of the hydroxylated tropane skeleton is described. The method features a new intramolecular reductive coupling reaction of N-acyl N,O-acetal with aldehyde, cooperatively mediated by BF(3)·OEt(2) and SmI(2). On the basis of this method, a new enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-Bao Gong Teng A has been accomplished.